An
attempt by detained members of Nigeria’s terrorist group, the Boko
Haram was foiled today at the headquarters of Nigeria’s secret police,
the Department of State Security in Abuja.
“There was an attempted jail break by our inmates when the suspect handler went to feed them,” said spokeswoman Marilyn Ogar.
Ogar
did not provide details on the number of inmates involved nor disclose
why they were being held but said an official statement would be issued
later.
The DSS headquarters in the capital Abuja is located near
the presidential villa and nearby residents reported hearing gunfire on
Sunday morning. Traffic was also diverted in the area.
A
security source said the incident happened when inmates disarmed one of
the guards, hitting him with their handcuffs before seizing his rifle
and shooting him.
The condition of the guard was not immediately known.
“The sporadic gun shots heard after the incident were by the service personnel as a show of force,” the source added.
A
number of Nigerian newspaper websites and users of social media claimed
that the detainees were Boko Haram suspects but did not quote sources.
The
DSS had on March 3 paraded seven suspected Boko Haram members arrested
on suspicion of killing a prominent Muslim cleric who had criticised the
group before the media at their headquarters.
The seven were held over the murder of Adam Albani in the northern city of Zaria on February 1.
But
it was not known whether the men, including the alleged mastermind of
the attack and one of the gunmen, were still at the facility.
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